Week into the trip

Sontag, July 24, 2011

We left Virginia a week ago today and have been in Germany for 5 days. In that short time we have already toured 3 beautiful castles. The first was a small Schloss with a moat, close to where we are staying. Not overly impressive but for the kids first sight of historical Germany, it was a revelation. Afterwards, we ate some traditional German cake and then played putt-putt golf all at the same place.

Yesterday, we spent the day at a beautiful castle on a mountain, high above the land below. It was a pretty tough hike up to the top but well worth the effort. Although it was a fairly young castle, it was truly beautiful. The original was built around 1100 then destroyed in a battle in the 1400s. It was then rebuilt in the 1600s with the same floor plan. It fell into disrepair over time but then rebuilt in the late 1800s to its current state which is very similar to the original. It was built after the same style as the well known Neuschwanstein which Disney has modeled their castle after. Such beautiful architecture, paintings and historical displays of the time. One of the relevant side notes for me was that General Von Steuben, who was a major influence in training our troops in the Revelutionary War,afterwards, worked for the Kings and Queens that resided at this castle.

Today, was our 3^rd castle in a week. Again, a very tough climb up the side of a mountain. Now that the day is over, I am toast. 2 days of hard hiking have turned my legs into jello.